Frustrated with the stymied stimulus bill with Democrats, 74-year-old President Donald Trump took maters into his own hands, signing an executive order to allocate $1 trilllion remaining from the first CARES Act to extend $400 a week to unemployed workers. Trump claims negotiations stalled in Congress because Democrats want to bail out cities-and-states that have run out of cash due to the global coronavirus pandemic forcing states to “shelter in place” and lockdown economies, losing billions in tax revenue. “This pretty much takes care of the whole situation,” Trump said at a contentious press conference yesterday at the Bedminster golf resort in New Jersey. “We’re coming back very strong,” Trump said. “We’re doing great with the virus,” refuting the Democrat Party narrative that Trump bungled the Covid-19 crisis, leaving parts of the country in Florida and the Southwest swamped with cases.
Trump hit a brick wall dealing with Democrats in the House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) seeks to make Trump look bad at every opportunity. Trump’s executive order offers nothing to private citizen, like the CARES Act that gave ordinary citizens making under $75,000 a years to receive $1,200 in bonus checks or $2,400 for couples, up to $4,000 for families. Trump broke off negotiations with Democrats unwilling to compromise on whopping bailout for states. Trump claims those same states have been subjected to years of mismanagement, something Trump thinks it’s unfair for the government to foot the bill. Under Trump’s executive order, there’s no cash for individuals and families, something Pelosi held out if Trump agreed to $3 trillion in bailout out cash. Trump wants no part of any bailout plan that adds $3 trillion onto the $26.5 trillion national debt.
When you consider the national debt is already at $26.5 trillion and rising and that current federal budget deficits run $3.4 trillion, Trump thinks another whopping spending bill would kill any chance of economic recovery. Trump hopes his executive order will get House Democrats back to the table. As long as Democrats blame the impasse on Trump, they think they’ll give 77-year-old former Vice President and presumptive Democrat nominee Joe Biden a leg up before the Nov. 3 election. Democrats have laid the blame for the ongoing epidemic on Trump, claiming he’s responsible for the ongoing economic carnage. Whether voters buy it or not, it seems to be working, if you can trust the polls. “They wants to bailout states that have been very badly managed for years if not decades,” Trump said, drawing his line in the sand, rejecting Democrats’ May 15 $3.2 trillion HEROES Act.
Instead of pushing things to the brink, Trump thought he had to do something, acting alone with another executive order. Hopefully it will push Democrats back to the table, to craft a realistic stimulus package, not, as Senate Majority Speaker Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) calls it, a Democrat “wish list.” Republican have expressed grave reservations to another costly boondoggle, they fear would impede economic recovery for years. Democrats bill has billions to aid for states and the Post Office to implement nationwide mail-in ballots, something Trump said would “steal the election” for Democrats. “They want to steal the election,” Trump said. “That’s all this is about,” letting Democrats fund nationwide mail-in ballots. Trump announced his executive order at the Bedminster golf resort, finding himself confronted by CBS News report Paul Reid, disputing Trump’s claim he passed choice for veterans.
Reid was technically correct that the Verterans’ Choice Act passed under former President Barack Obama in 2014, it was never implemented. Trump ordered the VA to implement choice when it became clear the Veterans’ Administration couldn’t handle the medical needs of its subscribers. Instead of arguing over petty issues, the press should help resolve the stalemate between Democrats and Republicans on the latest stimulus package. Trump sets out in his executive order a $400 a week extended unemployment benefit to be implemented immediately. House Democrat are too busy jockeying for position before Biden announces his running mate, currently sucking the oxygen out of more pressing priorities, like completing a new stimulus bill. Trump calls in his executive action a suspension of the payroll tax for workers earning under $100,000 per year in salary or independent contractors.
Trump decision to preempt Democrats on a stimulus bill tries to get more money into the hands of cash-strapped American workers. For Democrats and Republicans to get on the same page, Trump would have to show a willingness to up the ante when it comes to cash-strapped cites, counties and states. While it’s true many of the hurting cities are run by Democrats, it’s also true the coronavirus AKA SARS CoV-2 or Covid-19 shutdown have caused the loss of tax revenue to cities, counties and states. Trying to meet Democrats halfway would go a long way in building some consensus. Trump needs a workable stimulus plan to reassure voters that he’s serious about helping ordinary citizens survive during the deadly coronavirus epidemic. Trump’s 56-year-old Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin should work hard to compromise with Democrats or risk ending up in the help wanted lines himself.
